GRATITUDE!!!

did we give thanks?
OBviously.
what do you think we are?
an armada of effin' A*-holes?
c'mon.
the whole day is designated as one for maximum mindfulness of all you've got.
and we LOVE it when there are clear and understandable rules.
for realsies.
did we give thanks?
damn, dudes, i can't believe you'd even wonder about that...
sure,
we're a whole household of bold barbarians,
with rough-hewn edges, rollicking ambitions,
persnickety perspicaciousness, and pugilistic predispositions-
yet still we're objective in our perspectives,
not to mention the subsequent subjective objectives,
and let's be sure to include a note as to our superlative berserker battle-beastliness,
as it relates specifically to our savage stormswept scalding skald-style temperaments, too.
yeah.
we can be a cadre of coarse corsairs,
BUT,
we absolutely embody the spirit and memory of gratitude and generosity.
......and that's no joke.
mmhmmm.
my friend ian attended, for his first ever all-vegan thanksgiving,
and it was honor to have him here.
my considerately sober ladyfriend, kayla, was also here of course,
for her first ever all-vegan thanksgiving, as well.
plus, harvest and maple, my champion children, put in their share of the work,
and held it down alongside me at the stovetop all dang day.
that's sort of a big deal.
to adequately activate a truly expert exxxplosion of good times,
with good foods, for these good folks at the Folk Life & Liberty Fortress,
i had to really bring the juicy juggernautical shark-gluttony far further than
the farthest-flung reaches of active participation.
what does that mean, exactly?
it means we made 19 separate edible and exceptional foodstuffs,
some of which included several homemade, from-scratch components within,
which in turn means that we brought the FUEGO to the fortress,
and it was a thunderously thumpin' success!
F* yes!
check out the first round plate-up, via the thanks-for-everything-type teleport:

TOO MUCH IS THE RIGHT AMOUNT!!!!
neighbors,
we done did it.
would you like the list of all that we produced?
yeah?!
cool.
1. a pan of pink-salted, olive-oiled, buttery, from-scratch fresh-baked focaccia!!!
2. grit-activated maple-syrup-sweetened up-north cornbread!

3. apple-cidered, maple-sugared, vanilla bean whole berry-burst cranberry SAUCE!!

4. seared scratch-made seitan and spinach stuffed whole button mushrooms!

5. custom-blend tempeh bacon crumbles and caramelized shallot brown-sugar-topped mashed sweet potatoes!!

6. butternut squash, maple syrup, cinnamon, dried cranberries, and pecans!!

7. freestyle red lentil/tofu/seitan-style roast, with black 'n' jasmine rice stuffing!!!
(this one was the best one yet, by a country mile!)
8. great gooey gouts of homemade gravy, from a crucial brown-buttery roux!!
9. fried-garlic-and-olive-oil italian-style kale greens!!
10. soy-glazed sesame oil-seared brussels sprouts!!

11. RAINBOW ROOT VEGGIES, with cauliflower and squash and sprouts! s'kyoot!
12. custom cashew-shee' and daiya-baked mackin' chee'ronis!!! a crowd favorite for sure.
13.garlic mashed red skin-on potatoes!
14. homemade red lentil vegan sausage-packed Folk Life sourdough STUFFING,
with leeks, carrots, celery, and nootch!!!!

15. kabocha squash bowl,
with red-rice, arugula, tempeh bacon, shiitake, seitan, and pepita stuffing!
kaBOOM!!!
guys,
that's a LOT of food,
but, as you already are all well aware: rules is rules;
and overdoing it is the only was to go.
......
and that's not even including all FOUR desserts.
yuuuuuup.
i said it earlier, but it bears repeating:
too much is the right amount.
16. maple cream pumpkin cake!!
17. gingered pear and pecan shortbread tart, with coffee-cake crOmbles!!
18. pumpkin mutha-effin' pie!
19. cinnamon-swirl-topped apple pie!!!
-
bro,
the recipes for most of that stuff are here already, somewhere.
i mean,
there are probably five years worth of food posts on this site.
this isn't the one where i tell you how to make the magic happen.
this is the one where i show you all the spells we've cast.
*
five people, ALL the gravy, MORE desserts, MORE breads, TWICE the potatoes,
and all of it really happening in keeping with the notion of abundance.
family togetherness?
that's expert.
cooking with the whole clan?
that's expert.
overdoing it to eleven, and then doing it some MORE?
you know it.
***********
friends,
i didn't even get pictures of everything.
nope.
and there was SO much of it, too.
in fact, there was such a maelstrom of magnificence swirling around my head,
i didn't even get a single shot of everyONE all together, either.
damn.
i guess so much was going on, all at the same time,
that i was too dang busy livin' to make a record of the proceedings.
that's probably a good thing, right?
when the moment is so commanding you just lose yourself in the experience,
and all the past and future fade out at the periphery?
i am grateful as F* for the time i have been given,
and for these worthy warrior poets who've opted to share their portion of space with me.
we're lucky.
i know it, and i will never, not now nor ever, take that for granted.
friends,
i hope this missive finds you well,
and that the world around you is welcoming and wonderful.
failing that, i hope you're feeling full as F* and ready for representing on some
hall-decking and deck-clearing on that leftover business.
wordimus prime;
never quiet, never soft.....